About Lisa Whiteaker, trainer Lisa
Whiteaker is a certified trainer.
Taming & Training One on One
I offer Intensive Counseling on our taming and
training techniques through my programs,
Infant, Juvenile and adult, which
includes leash and collar training, behavior
modification, diaper training, physiological
well-being and many more techniques. Many primate
owners let their monkeys roam freely in their house
without their primate being tamed and trained first.
Many issues arise later on as the monkey gets older.
This is not the only issues that arise, biting,
uncontrollable behavior is just a few.
Service fee is listed above for you to pick the
program that best suits you and your monkeys needs.
Note: I have become very busy flying from home to
home in changing lives. Make sure you contact
me to see if I am available. Coming directly
to you and changing everything is worth being with
your primate for the next 40 years. Instead of
going through a year of back and forth sessions, you
do have the opportunity for me to come directly to
you and fix everything all at once. When I
Leave you have a different monkey, a good, behaved
monkey, most of all you know what to do at all
times.
by Lisa Whiteaker, President & Founder
of MonkeyZone
Only for monkeys at starting age of 5 and older
It is only natural that once having tamed your monkey, you
will want to train it. Once the monkey is properly tamed,
training is simple. Trick Training can only be started when
your monkey is fully developed and is an ADULT! You can not
trick train a infant or Juvenile. It takes years to first
Tame and Train, then trick training will be enjoyable and
fun for both the monkey and you.
Training is mostly a matter of repeating the same thing over
and over until it finally becomes a habit with the monkey.
The most important thing to remember is that you must make
certain your pet understands what you want to do. When you
decide on a trick, show the monkey what you want by putting
it in a certain position. Always repeat the same words with
the same actions, and it will eventually associate the
action with the command. Don't try to do too many different
things all at once. It is better to concentrate on one trick
at a time and work on it until it is perfected before
introducing a new one. My monkey (MugWhy) sometimes will go
for months without doing what I want her to do and then she
will give a perfect performance without rehearsal. I do not
like to over train. Monkeys do many clever things of their
own accord, and if you cultivate these natural actions,
so
that they will do them whenever you want them to, your
monkey
will appear to be very well-trained and will be much happier
in performing for you if they do a
number of things that are not artificial or strange to them.
Obedience is the first and the ut-most important lesson in
training. Let your monkey know in a kind but firm way that
you are the Alpha and will not tolerate any foolishness. You
can do this and still make the training periods fun for your
monkey and yourself. In training MugWhy, I have found it
better to work for short periods, a few times daily, at
the same time of the day, than to work for one long period.
In other words, work for fifteen or twenty minutes, a couple times a day, then play for a short time after you
finish the lesson. By using brief periods, you don't tire
your monkey and you aren't as likely to loose your temper. If
you should find yourself becoming impatient or cross, STOP
AT ONCE! Put your monkey away for a while and give your
nerves a chance to calm down. Never strike your monkey while
trying to teach it. If you strike or hurt your monkey while
teaching, it will associate the hurt with the trick and will
be afraid to try it again. When MugWhy does something
incorrectly, I don't scold her I show her again and again
how the trick is done. When she does the trick correctly, I
praise her and give her a treat! Marshmallows and meal worms work real well, not to mention yogurt covered raisins.
When MugWhy was a baby I introduced her to water as
soon as I brought her home. I tried to put my mind into perspective
thinking what would or how would Capuchins bathe in the
wild. I thought of a stream of running water. This took
place at the kitchen sink, by turning the water on and
making sure I had a tiny stream of water coming out. I
didn't want to scare her in any way, so I gently put her
under the running water, without getting her face wet. I
lathered her up in Johnson's baby shampoo, again not her
face, then rinsed her off. She cried a little but in time
she soon loved to take or get a bath. I have heard allot of
different opinions about bathing, like the shower works
better, a bucket or bowl of water works wonders. Not all
monkey like the same thing. The trick is giving them a bath
when they are little several times a week.
I don't care if MugWhy to wear clothes, it isn't one
of MugWhy's favorite things, I never have pushed the issue.
It isn't important to me if she wears them or not. It's
not natural in the wild. You may find your monkey is like
MugWhy and likes to rip them apart.
Many monkey owners primates wear diapers, for it is quite a
job to diaper train a monkey, and just when you think your
monkey is fully diaper trained, you turn your back for a
moment only to look back and find they have ripped off the
diaper, and for most it is a game. Frustrating yes, but
always a challenge to try again.
You can train your monkey to do allot of cute things, like
sitting in a chair. I started by showing MugWhy the chair
and letting her play with it, by tipping it over and jumping
up and down on it. I found if you get a little toddlers
chair works well. When MugWhy got accustomed to the chair, I
helped her sit on it. Of course she thought it was fun
jumping into the chair, but now was the tough job of getting
her to stay seated in the chair. Rewarding her for sitting there,
it was a easy task
for MugWhy to sit in a chair, but not for a long period of
time. Just enough time to take a
picture!
Walking on the hind legs comes naturally to Capuchin and
Spider monkeys.
Since MugWhy was little I had a belt around her waist and a
leash to follow. I have found when we walk around the house,
she started to grab the leash and walk upright. Now, it is a
habit for her. Monkeys will stand straight up and walk
backwards on their hind legs, this behavior in these monkeys comes naturally especially when they greet newcomers. It is
a sense of threat. I keep MugWhy's leash on her, she has
learned to carry her leash in her tail. She also has learned
how to keep her leash from getting tangled. Walking upright
is a wonderful exercise for monkeys hind legs.
Anytime you plan to use a "prop" in a trick, such as a
chair, ball, ect.. let your monkey become accustomed to the object
before you try to do anything with it. In this way, the fear
is overcome before you start working with the prop. Toys
that I have mentioned in my recent articles, can help you in
your training periods. Most monkeys like to play with a
ball, and if you use it only during training periods, they
soon learn to "play ball" with you. At first they can catch
it and never give it back to you. But after a while,
throwing it back and forth, they soon learn to toss it.
Their aim however, isn't too good, but you should pretend to
be a good catcher.
They like bright and shiny things, and of course, noise
makers. I don't like to give MugWhy soft rubber objects, or
anything coated with harmful paint. Especially a paint
containing lead. Be sure there are no sharp edges on metal
toys, because they might cut themselves. Nearly all monkeys
will spend hours playing with their reflections in a looking
glass. This provides amusement for them, and not to mention
great fun for anyone watching; but here again a word of
warning, use a metal mirror instead of a glass one.
I have found, if you start with the simplest and easiest
tricks first, they will become very successful. Don't expect
too much from your monkey, something that you think may be
easy, may be beyond the ability of your monkey. And
remember, you have the idea and you know what you want the
monkey to do, so it is up to you to give the idea and show
it how the trick is done. Try to make the training periods
interesting and enjoyable to your monkey, and you will find
they are more profitable and enjoyable for you also. A
monkey that is happy and enjoys performing is one that has
been trained properly, loves it's trainer, and works for the
fun it has and gives others. A monkey that works for fear of
a beating is a sad animal and the chances are strong it will
not live very long, it will pine away and die rather than
lead such a miserable life.
I have tried to give you the basic methods that I use in my
training, I am really not into trick training. Although I
have said it before, I repeat that kindness and patience are
the most important rules to remember and follow in training
your pet. I also feel that obedience training is more
important than trick training. You owe it to yourself, your
friends and your pet to see that it is well behaved. A few
simple tricks will increase your enjoyment of the time you
spend with your monkey. Real intensive trick training
requires allot of time, and unless you plan to use your pet
professionally, it is hardly necessary.
Lisa
Whiteaker is a certified trainer.
so
that they will do them whenever you want them to, your
monkey
will appear to be very well-trained and will be much happier
in performing for you if they do a
number of things that are not artificial or strange to them.
